Hi all,
When we last left you we were in Istanbul, and after we had finished in the internet cafe we headed off to dinner with the gang. After dinner we enjoyed some traditional apple tea, then headed off to a bar for a few drinks and some sheesha!! We all had a great night, although Arnoux and I called it a night a bit earlier than the rest....and in the morning we were glad we had, there were a few miserable faces at brekkie the next morning!!
The next morning we had to be downstairs outside the hotel at 9am for our guided tour of the city with the local guide....however 11am rolled around and still he was nowhere to be seen!! Eventually Robbie got hold of the guy, and arranged for him to meet us outside the old Roman underground cistern once we had finished having a look around there by ourselves. The underground cistern was incredible, those wacky Romans never cease to amaze with all the things they could accomplish so long ago!! When we had finished there the guide was still half an hour away so we went for a wander. We encountered the nicest local who was sitting outside his shop, when he found out that we were from NZ, he invited us in for apple tea. The tea was made with boiling water, and it was about 4o degrees outside, but apparently an offering of tea is an offering of friendship for life, so we decided not to turn it down!! He showed us his embroidered kiwi on his wall from his friend in Christchurch, as well as his photos from Gallipolli...it was one of those awesome experiences that you cant buy!!
From there is was back to meet up with the local guide...but it took us about 37 seconds to discover that this guy was a complete waste of space, so we decided to do it under our own wind. We checked out the Blue Mosque, where Arnoux had to wear a headscarf, then had an excellent lunch of kebabs before heading off to the grand bazaar. This place truely has to be seen to be believed!! Thousands upon thousands of stalls all selling various sweets, clothes, backgammon boards etc etc. The thing is that so many of the stalls sell exactly the same stuff, so the proprietors of these stalls will not let you walk past their place without doing everything in their power to get you to come and see the fibre of their fabric. At first it was a little intense for me (Arnoux took to it like a duck to water), but after a while I realised that they were not being rude or agressive, they were just trying to make a living, and once you stopped to talk to them you realise that they are actually really nice people!! By the time we were finished in that place we were expert barterers too, we managed to save ourselves plenty on the various purchases that we made!!
From there it was back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner..... dinner in asia that is!! As a lot of you will know, Istanbul is the only city in the world on 2 different continents, so a few of us Joined Robbie and jumped on a ferry to the asia side for dinner, the food was good, but the true highlight was the icecream...which was dirt cheap, but tasted like there was a party in your mouth that all of Istanbul was invited to!!
The next day was a bit of a relax day, we had a nice sleep in, and woke up just in time to get breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then we hung out with Nikki, the kiwi girl that was leaving the tour that day... her and Arnoux had been getting along like a house on fire so it was an emotional day for both of them... we had linch with her and a few of the others then wandered the streets before heading back to the hotel to see her off.... sob...sob... Once she had departed we partook in a bit more retail therapy to calm the nerves, then had some dinner and retired to our room to enjoy the airconditioning.
The next morning we departed for Sofia, Bulgaria. It was a pretty long drive day, so when we got to the hotel we had some dinner, then headed for the crews room for a bit of a room party.... their room was huge so it made sense!!
The next morning we had a city tour with another local guide...Im not sure if it was the hangover, or the heat..... but this guy was truely the most boring man in Europe!!! We did our best to make the most of it, since its probably not a place we will return to.....but this guy really did suck everyones will to live. Even Victoria, who had not had a drop to drink the night before (or for the whole trip for that matter) was begging for a cocktail to ease the pain!! Once the torture was over we headed back to the hotel to get changed into our swimwear to head down to the pool that was about 1o mins walk....sadly....the pool was closed....in 4o degree heat...on a sunday..... mmmmmm convenient!! Thankfully, our tour pal Grant could not be swayed from his need for a dip, so he talked to everyone who would listen until he discovered the location of a pool. So the 6 of us piled into cabs and headed for this haven from the heat.... it was the best decision of the whole trip to date.... the place was magnificent!! Even without the multitude of topless women it would have been great!! While Victoria and Grant could not resist the call of the gym, the rest of us had no such problem, so we had an excellent dinner at the restaurant next to the pool before retiring back to the hotel.
The next morning we were back on the road heading for Bucharest, the Romanian capital. After a stop off at one of the ancient fortresses we arrived to a nice surprise.... a local guide who actually knew what he was talking about!!! He was also hilarious, which was far far more than we had come to expect to say the least. When our local tour had concluded we were dropped off at a shopping centre for dinner and a movie...yep, a rather large group of us went to see the latest Harry Potter movie.... in english, with Romanian subtitles for the locals...most excellent!!! After that we received a second city tour....this time from our super friendly taxi driver.... he did make it very clear that he hated the Russians, but a cabfull of Kiwis and Aussies was his cup of tea!!
We awoke the next day and again boarded the bus for Brasov, Romania (you may have guessed by now, the eastern europe part of our trip included a lot of driving, we are in Budapest as we are writing this and we can gladly say that this has changed, and we are now back to having 2 days in each place). On the way we stopped off at Draculas Castle........ yawn!!!!!!! What an absolute rip off!! By local standards it cost an arm and a leg to get into, and my granparents place is more interesting!!!!! If you ever end up in Romania.... just take a photo from the outside..... you will thank us for the tip I promise!!!
We spent the night in Brasov, where I made a new friend called Francois from Paris. We ended up talking sport and cultural differences well into the early hours of the morning, it was very cool indeed... plus now I have a place to stay if I am ever back in Paris!!
The next morning we departed for Cluj Napoca, with a stop off at the birthplace of Dracula.... which is now nothing more than a cheesy tourist cafe where all the food and drinks cost more than any of the locals earn in a year. After this stop we boarded the bus once again, and were advised that to break up the monotony of the bus that we had spent a lot of time on in the 4 or so previous days.... all the guys were going to be offered up as dolls for the girls to 'make up'....... mmmmm, interesting. When the draw was made, I got Sarah, the performing arts student, whose eyes lit up when I decided to get into the spirit of things and told her to do what she pleased.... an hour later I had about 4 layers of make up on, and would have fit quite nicely into the rocky horror picture show.... needless to say, photos of this episode will not be making the blog!!!
After a rather drunken night in Cluj Napoca (if you ever get there you will understand why), we climbed aboard our beloved bus again for the drive to Budapest, Hungary. Upon arrival we had a city tour with Robbie, which is always much better and far more informative, before retiring to the campsite. It was here that we discovered the home of all the worlds mosquitos... they are everywhere!! Luckily, Arnoux and I are packing African strength insect repellant so they didnt dare come anywhere near us...but we all have to listen to Sacha the American telling us about each and everyone of her 132,ooo bites!!! This brings us to this morning. We had a nice sleep in as we did not have to be at brekkie until 8.15, and we were free to leave whenever we wanted after that. So after breakfast we showered, chatted, then headed for the metro stop for the train ride into the city. First stop was the amazing underground labyrinth of caves and tunnels under the castle district. From there it was off to have some lunch and a refreshing icecream before tracking down an internet cafe...which you may have guessed by now we were successful in doing. Once we are finished here it is off to the Hungarian baths, and then off to a group dinner in the city.
Our Eastern europe experience has been excellent, dispite the fact that it has been a little less than exciting at times. It has been more a time of unique experinces, where just seeing what communism did to the area, and interacting with the amazing, friendly local people has been more the norm.
We hope you are all well, and we just wanted to say a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our beloved Uncy Neil!!! Hope you had a great day!!!
Also, happy 6oth birthday to Uncle Russell for today, hope you have an amazing time at the RWC!!!
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